


Military Exercises, Driving Missions, and some other adventures

by Dolanus



Series: Imaginationland Stories [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Truckers, Arms Cache, Buying a Car, Conscription, Driving, Drugs, Exams, F/M, Gen, Military, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some are based off movies, Some of the originally named FF7 characters are unnamed and are thus given names, Tags May Change, truck driving
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23857201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dolanus/pseuds/Dolanus
Summary: Basically a prequel to Truck Drivers. Cloud and Aerith doing things as a couple before they get to drive tractor-trailers.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Aigis/Arisato Minato, Aigis/Yuuki Makoto (Persona Series), Cissnei/Zack Fair
Series: Imaginationland Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1390324
Kudos: 10





	1. Forward!

It just so happened Midgar had the Together military exercises. 

Aerith, who was finishing her 6 month conscription left (out of a whole year, since she was a college student and just finished her thesis) was called to serve the Territorial Defense of her region, the Northern region of the kingdom. And it just so happens they were called to participate in Midgar’s military exercises. Along with them were Alternian, Terabithian, San Andrean and Neverwintan forces. 

Riding in a TAB-71 armoured personnel carrier, Aerith and her fellow soldiers were to wait until further instructions. 

“Fuck me,” Aerith mumbled and covered her face, “How many hours have passed.” She passed time by looking at her rifle and its bayonet. Her words were muffled by the samogon engine’s hum. 

“1 hour.” 

“Oh, thanks.” She thanked another soldier. “I’m probably too loud” she whispered to herself. 

Then suddenly, they were told by their commander to get out of the APC. 

“Come on, get your asses out! Assemble!”

Aerith and other soldiers assembled, bringing out their M70B1 rifles. She was at a field, somewhere in the Northern region. There were other soldiers too.

They started the “assault” by a shout of “Napred!” (1) 

Aerith and her fellow exercise members walked, firing some blank rounds, then moving onward. As she walked onto the “trenches” some training dummies were either fired at or stabbed at with a bayonet. 

“Ura!” Aerith screamed as she “stabbed” a dummy with her rifle’s bayonet. 

“For the King and the Fatherland! Freedom or Death!” Her commander shouted and she followed other soldiers into the “attack”. 

Apart from shooting “targets”, she was their unit’s translator, because not all Midgarians can speak Russian and not all San Andreans can speak Midgarian. She was also their story teller, about her adventures of researching in the lab (she had a degree in Biology) or her work in general. For instance, how she unintentionally mated a yellow flower she sold and a Marijuana plant, or a coca plant for that matter. Result: Yellow-coloured Marijuana. 

“Ura!” she shouted, pretending they attacked the building, which held OPFOR troops, consisting of Terabithian soldiers. 

The soldiers pretended they were attacking an anti-air defence system. OPFOR tanks and infantry “defended” it. 

Now that they took their “position” they “defended” it. Firing at oncoming troops, she “fired” at them. She used blank rounds since it was a normal exercise. But in the event of an actual war, and she didn’t want to think about it, she’d use FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) rounds. 

After “conquering” their OPFOR’s territory, she and her fellow soldiers prepared it for defence, by setting up anti-tank nests and anti-aircraft nests, which had soldiers with Strela missiles. 

Aerith’s role was to stand in the trench and fire at soldiers pretending they were OPFOR. But while she waited, she checked her service rifle. It had a large stock, and an ability to fire rifle grenades, except when she tried it, it had a massive kick. But she liked the rifle nonetheless. She’ll plan to buy the same gun at the end of her service, since she sold enough flowers and marijuana to get such a gun. 

Soon enough the OPFOR started their attack, with explosions and advancing tanks, which were also old T-44 tanks, painted and dressed to look like the tanks of the last war in Imaginationland. She remembered a San Andrean director (he was a household name but she forgot said name) using old CJ-1s and T-44s for that purpose, reading it in a Borba newspaper. 

“Hey, aren’t these the tanks they used in the movie Liberation?” asked a soldier. (2)

“Yeah. I forgot the name of the director?” She answered. 

“Was it Kaito Kirishima?” 

“Yes! You got the name!” Aerith shouted out in response. After that, their commander ordered them to fire blanks, at any target. 

“Fire!” Their commander shouted, as Aerith and other soldiers fired at the targets at a distance and pretended to fight their "enemy", which consisted of San Andrean soldiers pretending as OPFOR. 

After defending their machine gun nest, they then went back to the TAB, escorted by T-34-85 tanks. 

Now that the first day is finally over, they had some rest. Either they went to the city bars, or cook some food, and watch porn/any movie over their phones. In Aerith’s case she played a shooting game which involved shooting up chasing assassins. (3)

On the second day, she and other soldiers (from her unit, the country's army and other countries involved in the exercise) watched a military parade involving the armies present. It first involved infantrymen, then armored vehicles such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers.

All in the while, the lyrics of a patriotic song play in the distance. 

“We give to you our vows,  
In the name of freedom  
and our loving embrace  
Earthly brotherhood like a rusted titan  
In the name of life  
and the flags of flame,  
you have our vows!” (4b)

Once she and her soldiers finished their service (it was indeed the last day of her days as a soldier), they went home. As Aerith went back to her city, Midgar, she asked herself, “What will happen now?” 

She was going to graduate in a week or two, and while she was secured with a job, she was excited and scared about the future. What will happen? Will she stay as a flower seller/drug dealer or get another job? She could drive her car, a grey Zastava 101, and use it as her taxi. But nonetheless, she had no actual idea. 

She looked at her phone and viewed the numerous photographs while she was in the army. A picture of her with her family’s M70AB2, or her unit, with its TAB-71, for some examples. She’ll wait for her mother and her father and some neighbours, like Cvijan (original: the sick guy) and Barret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be published way earlier but my PC's original content wiped out. So I had to make one out of my memory.
> 
> 1\. Serbian for “Forward!”  
> 2\. Actual movie - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_(film_series) except Kirishima (from Ano Natsu de Matteru) is like Ozerov.  
> 3\. Rage Road  
> 4\. Song + lyrics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7VULt6hJS0. 
> 
> Here's a pic so you can imagine Aerith with said gun, and in uniform. https://www.deviantart.com/kfirpanther3/art/Aerith-with-an-Assault-Rifle-805650816


	2. Cloud's Turn

On the same day, Cloud also was part of the exercises, except he was part of another unit, similar to Aerith’s, but a different name and another location. He was also finishing his time as a conscript, since he defended his thesis almost a year ago. 

In his case, he and his fellow soldiers were transported (by truck) to the same general area where Aerith also attacked, but a different position. In their case, they were to defend the vehicle depot of the 23rd Armoured battalion (of Midgar), which composed of trucks, buses painted in army green, CJ-1 and CJ-2 tanks, with some T-72A tanks. He and his fellow soldiers were attached to the battalion. He was to defend the base until the OPFOR (the “enemy”) stopped. Then, he was to attack an anti-aircraft battery and retake it. After that, his unit was to go home, like Aerith’s unit, since like hers, it was also his last day as a conscript. 

The first thing the OPFOR did was to “fly” a bunch of aircraft and “bomb” their positions, which “signified” to the BLUFOR (the Midgarian side) to defend their positions. Then came the OPFOR tanks helicopters (consisting of Mi-24s) and infantry, consisting of San Andrean troops as OPFOR. 

Cloud, like Aerith, was also a rifleman, and was issued the same type of rifle she had, an M70B1 rifle. 

In a routine manner, Cloud “shot” at the OPFOR at a distance, usually firing bursts of blank gun fire from his rifle, usually hiding under his position, a trench, so he won't get "shot". 

Then he had the expression of “what the fuck?!” as a man asked him if he had weapons. He turned his head and realized, a special forces soldier (distinguished by having a paratrooper’s helmet) was asking him, and some other men like the Special forces soldier, were asking the same questions. 

“What the fuck is going on? Why is a commando, of all people, wanted to ask him for weapons?” he thought. 

Cloud could do nothing but shake his head. “Sorry, I can’t help you. Maybe look for another place.” Then the “commando” left. (1)

He wondered if Zack had such a mission like that. Cloud never bothered to go join the army as a professional, since he didn’t aim to become one, not because he was against the whole thing but because he thought he wouldn’t make it, and he didn’t want to disappoint everybody, whether it’d be his family, or his future “older girlfriend” that his parents and his elder sister, Lightning talked about. 

Talking of which, Zack even once bothered him. 

“Why do you insist on having an older girlfriend?” Zack asked. “Cissnei’s the same year as I am!” 

“Well, that’s what my family insist on! I don’t actually mind. I’m pretty sure she can take care of me.” 

For hours, they stopped several attacks from the “OPFOR” until the OPFOR “withdrew”, followed by the the BLUFOR (Cloud’s faction) following them and attacking a part of the fortifications.

Afterwards, Cloud and his fellow soldiers were ordered to take a ride on a BTR-71, and were to fire as they approached the “enemy” base. When his commander ordered him to do so, he was told to open up a port and fire on the sides, actually, firing on a diagonal direction. He fired as usual, pretending his imaginary targets were the enemy.  
They then attacked a hilly position, which had anti-aircraft batteries consisting of S-200 missiles and radars. 

“Get out and attack!” their commander ordered them. Cloud and some other soldiers went out of the BTR through a left door. He fired and walked towards the OPFOR base and entered the first line of trenches, securing it as well. 

For hours, they “retook” (remember, he also participated in military exercises) the “base” and held it until the “reinforcements” arrived. 

At the base, he stayed for the night, reading about an upcoming game, titled “Halo Taxi”, based from the 1983 movie. He was only excited for the gameplay and wanted to see the changes. In fact, there were a lot, like an expansion on one of the characters and so on. (2)

On the second day, he and other soldiers were bussed to watch the Military parade, albeit with a different seating place compared to Aerith’s place. Unlike Aerith, he didn’t have much close relations with most soldiers (since he didn’t bother talking to them). He didn’t have much close friends with his unit not because he was an asshole but because he was only close to a few friends of his, Zack, Cissnei and Kunsel, the guy (also Cloud’s schoolmate) who works at Barret’s trucking company. He was also a trained driver and mechanic, while having a degree of metallurgy at Midgar University. 

After that, he and other soldiers, and like Aerith, thought of what will happen next. Will he have a metallurgy-based job? Will he get a girlfriend (although the least of his worries)? “We’ll see…” he thought to himself. Just to pass time, he whipped out his phone looked at his photos in his service. A picture of him with a T-72, or shooting a rifle grenade (which he liked). 

He was going back to Midgar, expecting his family (his parents and his elder sister, Lightning), his friends Kunsel, Zack, and Cissnei.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbz1979OU3c  
> 2\. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKhjXEcCpYo


	3. The Meeting

Aerith mostly had a routine day. Wake up at 9:00, play a video game, either pretending as a pilot (DCS World), or as a bus driver (OMSI 2). Then eat lunch, then get out to some pre-chosen place in her car, a Zastava 101, and then sell some flowers and some special grasses, and then go home, eat and talk with her parents, and fuck off for the rest of the day, either to watch porn or a movie, or if it’s the weekends, consume her stash of Rakija or beer. 

She started work by dressing up in her typical attire: a red-maroon polo shirt (with a dress shirt collar and with the lower half coloured pink) with frontal pockets and green pants.  
Aerith took some flowers and some Marijuana leaves and drove all the way to Sitice in the family’s Zastava 101, then parked it somewhere that she can walk to later. She stretched then did what she did. She went there, here and hither, either selling Marijuana or flowers, in the same basket. 1 Gil for the flower (10 if you want a bundle), 5 for some Marijuana, 20 (for the entire bundle). 

One rule of hers was not to get high on her trading supply. She tried it once, but then, it stuck to her mind not to use it when she started selling said plants, although she gets a batch or two and let herself, her parents, and Barret test it before she sells it. However, if she wanted to consume Marijuana, she’d buy from her cousin, Mira. 

She did try cocaine once, except she read the effects, so she thought of using it only on her birthday. She could also deliver flowers, Marijuana bouquets or both, but in advance.  
For most of the time, she arranged the flowers herself, but for big events, like weddings or presents, she’d call in her two lackeys, Denzel and Marlene, who were 12 year olds. The two kids did some work, such as arranging them, then Aerith delivering it by car and then acknowledging it was Marlene’s job, but only when Aerith needed extra hands. 

She walked around and sold some flowers, gaining 400 gil in less than an hour. If it was a really good day, she’d have 1,000 to 4,000. However, there were days she did not sell them for three reasons: If it was a holiday or for another reason. Not in the mood? No flowers! 

If the previous day had not enough profit, she’d turn to her grey (because it was neither legal nor illegal) taxi service. It wasn’t a real one either because she’d have to buy a different car, like a ZZ 1500 (yes, a Zastava 1500, but in this case it was indigenously designed and made), and having to formalise the whole thing and paying up for the taxi, but she didn’t like the formality and the necessity to pay up. She did have equipment necessary to take a taxi, like a taximeter and signs, and she had “papers” made up by Barret’s employee, Kunsel. 

So for today, she earned not 500 gil, not 1,000 or even 2,000, but 5,000. She sat on a nearby tree (1), and counted the money. 

“Holy shit! That much!” She was happy, and she’d celebrate it some other time. Maybe treat her mother and father to a Serbian restaurant or a Russian one. Mmmm, yes, Musaka. There was this particular Serbian restaurant owned by her neighbor and his family, a man named Jovan Milovanović, was a loved place by the Gainsboroughs because that’s where Aerith and her family always ate whenever it was her, or her parents’ birthdays or simply because one of them had enough money for a treat, although it was cheap enough to eat daily. However, she only ate because of specific reasons, and she knew how to cook her own meals, to the point some people mistook her cooking for that of Milovanovic.  
She approached a kiosk and asked for snacks. 

“I need some snacks. One Sneg and 3 pancakes with chocolate and rum, please. I’ll eat nearby.” She enjoyed this energy drink, called Sneg (Snow). It had a snowy background on its cover, with a white snake on it as well, originally made by some company called “Puting Ahas”, from Narshe. She paid the vendor, got what she had and went off to a nearby tree, eating off pancakes in a metal plate and finishing off the bottle. She then returned the bottle and the plate to the vendor, and went on to work. 

Then we have Cloud. He stayed at Zack and Cissnei’s house, located at the northwestern part of the city, Ifalnac. He moved from Nibelheim to the capital but only to study metallurgy and because his father once taught there, before returning home and setting up a repair shop for small vehicles. He was going to get a dorm, but a classmate of his, Zack Fair (whom he met in Deretić’s History class), offered him to stay at his house. 

But anyway, he was dressed up a bit formally. Grey dress shirt closed to the top tucked in, t-shirt, then violet trousers. Walking away towards the main door, Zack and Cissnei greeted him. 

“Hey, Cloud, where are you going to?” Zack asked. 

“To the job fair at Sitice!” 

“You want us to drive your ass or something?” Cissnei asked, watching Vratiće se rode. 

“Nah, I can take the bus to there. Bye guys!” Then he went out and closed the door. 

“Gods, Cloud has the shittiest taste in fashion.” Zack could just say as Cloud left. As much as Zack thought of Cloud as his best friend, he disagreed at Cloud’s clothing style.  
Cloud walked towards the nearest bus stop and waited for the bus. He checked his watch, it was 11:30. He took some packed lunch with him because he’d probably eat at the bus, before going to find work. 

Cloud had a talk with the bus driver, Cvijan (yes the same “sick” guy), whom he befriended because at one evening, Cloud was the last passenger before the day ended. 

“Hey, Cloud, where are you going to?” Cvijan asked as he controlled the bus. 

“Just taking up a job.” Cloud answered. 

“Ah, that’s good. So how’s life?” 

“I live under my friend and his girlfriend’s house. I do some work for them, and some other shit. Like they want bongs and parts for their truck, I get it for them.” 

“And what do they do?”

“They’re truck drivers. They go around from this city to Faerun. Farthest they’ve ever went to was Alexandria, Neverwinter and Calimshan.” 

After that, Cloud ate his box lunch and went off to the job fair, but the job fair already closed, due to the sheer number of jobs being taken. 

“Come back later, around 3:00. We’re open ‘till 9:30!” said the clerk. 

Cloud thanked him, but he was a bit disappointed. He’s going to take plan b, go to the same place for the second time, then go to another job. At least he had some money left from teaching Javanese (he learned it over the University’s library) and Midgarian over SanNet, leaving due to his desire to take another job, which involved less people. 

So he went to a kiosk, buying Cockta and a pancake (but with strawberries), and ate it in front of said kiosk. Then he left and decided to go around for a while, coming back only when the job fair was open again. 

3, 2, 1

Bump! 

Both exchanged an “ow!” 

“Sorry!” said Cloud to the woman, and Aerith to the man. 

They picked up flowers and leaves, most of which were picked up by Cloud. 

“Wait,” Cloud asked. “What’s that for?”

“I sell flowers and Marijuana bouquets.” 

“Uh… can I have a flower?”

Then she added. 

“Oh, ok, here’s a flower, it’s one gil, just for you!” said Aerith with a friendly tone, to Cloud, who gave her one gil willingly and put it on his ear.

“Oh, uh, thanks... what’s your name?”

“Aerith.”

“Cloud.”

“Nice eyes though.” Both said, in perfect timing.

“Oh shit, we said the same words!” said Cloud. Aerith just giggled.

“I think there's something close in us. See you next time, then! Here’s my phone number.” Aerith told him, scribbling a piece of paper with her phone number (personal).

“Also, do you want something else?” 

“Yeah, you said you have Marijuana, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s right, Cloud. My flowers are made out of the Semberac strain, while the Marijuana is made out of the finest Darkvud strain, both cultivated only in the North. I might not be the first nor the last to sell here, however!” 

“Godsdamn,” Cloud told her. “How much?” 

“5 gils for one pack.” And Cloud paid not 5, but 10 gils. 

“Aight,” she provided two packs of the plant. “I don’t have a lighter right now. Sometimes, I like to eat it. Not raw! A tincture or two of that in a brownie, mwah!” Aerith kissed her fingers like a chef. “And you’re set!” 

“Hey, what’s your number? And where do you live?” She then added.

“Uh, shit.” 

“Why?” 

“Not my real house. I just live with a friend and his girlfriend.” 

“Understandable. But go ahead, I have a feeling think I knew you in my previous life.” 

“Uh, I live at Drina 10 20944, Ifalnac, My number is 644-1244, and my other phone number is 634-266-511.” Aerith copied his answer word by word, on her phone.  
Then Aerith stated hers. 

“Dan Pobede 50 91945, Faremisac. The number’s 624-1389 or 647-418-656. If we meet again, we’ll plan a date, ok?” She repeated it. Cloud copied her answer word by word, on his phone. 

“Sure!” Cloud answered. 

“That’s a deal then.” Aerith offered her hand, and in return, Cloud shook hers. She then added another question. “What were you doing here anyway?” 

“I was finding a job, but the openings are closed, so I decided to relax.” Cloud answered her. 

“Oh, that’s why. Wish you the best then!” 

“I’ll be going then!” Cloud told her. 

“See you then! And be careful!” Aerith told him. 

The two of them went on their ways, and although Cloud didn’t get the job he wanted, he’d promise himself to take another opportunity. 

So when Cloud went home, Zack and Cissnei shot him questions. 

“So did you get your job?” 

“No. But I met this girl.” 

“At the job fair?” Zack asked. 

“No. After I went to one.” Cloud answered. 

“He’s could be getting to this older girlfriend that he needs.” Zack commented. Cissnei was asleep. 

“Only question we should be asking is if she wants him.” 

Cloud ended the day by playing OMSI 2. Little did he know Aerith also liked the game. He planned to go to the same place, and if there were none, he could venture to some other places, like the church (it was actually a warehouse, but he liked the whole place, because history, that’s why). He was starting to get interested in her as well. 

Aerith also had the same idea. She told parents about Cloud, whom they were happy to see at one point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Instead of Midgar being a top down city, I restructured it like that of Beograd.  
> 2\. Based off https://archiveofourown.org/works/14340672/chapters/51856234
> 
> I called this "Aesthetics... on a first sight basis"


	4. Buying a Flag

With a wallet amounting to 30,000 Midgar gil, Aerith finally had the chance to buy a small car for her own personal purposes, mostly related to work. It could fit five adults and carry enough bouquets of flowers or Marijuana, and carry them on a single trip to her hometown, the northern town of Seseljevo. Before, she and her family (her parents Nemanja and Elmyra) went to their town by train and bus, then on foot. 

But anyway, she had a choice of vehicles, consisting of small ass cars. There were: the 126a (almost the same as a 126p), rear-engine, rear wheel drive, from Alexandria, costing 24,000; Similarly, the San Andreans offered the similarly tiny Zaporec 965, and its larger sibling, the Zaporec 966 and 968 (23,700), but they were kinda small for her. I mean, you’d have to pull down the chairs just so people can get to the rear of the vehicle. She preferred four door vehicles anyway, though she didn’t judge people who owned smaller cars. 

Then the smaller vehicles were followed by a slightly larger but shittier (read: two strokes are noisy) car, either the Syrena 110 or the Syrena 104, also from Alexandria, costing 25,000. Neverwinter also brought competition, mostly in the form of the Trabant 601 (22,000). It was cheaper, but it was complete shit. Sure, a car made out of cotton waste seems nice, but its shitty (read: can’t go fast, can’t last for 10 years, but shitloads of parts, 1). The latter three cars ran on two-stroke engines. Kei cars existed, but were pretty expensive owing to the lack of parts. 

Then there’s the better choices, mostly four-stroke engined cars, albeit a little expensive. These consisted of Skodas and Paykans (originally made in Farushi) from Terabithia, VAZ (or VAZ “Zetto”) cars from San Andreas and the Santosices (the 412 and 408), and the Wartburgs from Neverwinter. There was also the Zastava (Zelena Zastava or ZZ) 101 car made by her country, Midgar, which she liked for several reasons: it certainly fit 5 people, can work as delivery car (even when it's not one, although van versions exist), and had good speed (runs up until 160 km/h), not to mention a good engine that can go from one place to another. It had the option of 4 or 5 speed manual.

Beyond that, there were cars that were bigger and expensive, for her wallet. There was the 125a from Alexandria, which had the older engine from the FSO 1500 (although you could order a 1.6L engine), then of course the big Volgas, Neverwintan Mercs, Terabithian Skodas, older Alexandrian Warszawas and the local Zastava 1500s and 125AZs (except it had a 2101 engine) that competed the scene, which was beyond Aerith’s ability to pay them off.

All of the aforementioned cars ran on Banayad. If she was only a professional mechanic like Jessie or any of the truck drivers, she’d find an old samogon engine and keep it until it was time to be replaced. But as far as she knew, they were pretty rare. 

She read all of these and chose the perfect (for her) car: A Zastava 101. All she needed to do was get what she specified and whip out her ducats/paper. 

Good thing Midgar had an auto show, occuring every June. Now Aerith needed to do was to commute by bus, and go to a car dealer, which was 16 kilometers away. After riding by bus, she walked to the dealer’s office and requested a car. 

“Hey, I got your brochure at the Mitgarski Sajam last week, so I filled the details.” 

“I see.” the dealer noted her. “So you want a green Zastava 101, with a five-speed transmission, air conditioning, and 12 inch wheels? All in all...” he began calculating. “It’s around 26,000 gil.” 

“Aight, here’s the cash you need.” Aerith pulled her wallet and whipped out 26 x 1000 gil bills. “I don’t like paying with installments.” 

The dealer checked every single bill, so he won’t be fooled. “Come back next week.” 

“Aight.” 

A week later, she returned and got the car. In gratitude, she shook the hands of the dealer. 

Now that she returned, she needed to: register the car to the authorities, then see whatever she can do with it. For now, she went immediately to the registration office and had it registered. She was told to come back within two weeks.  
Since her 101 wasn’t fully registered yet, she still had to do her flower/Marijuana selling as it was, commute by bus to a popular place, then sell her wares, take some breaks, then go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cars are based off real ones, like Zastava 101 or 125P (125a) or the VAZ "Zetto" 2101 (real one is Ziguli)


	5. Moving to Her House

Cloud and Aerith watched a concert from the Serbian cover band Tamno Drvo (which made Darkwood Dub covers), the latter of which got into Imaginationland out of sheer demand by its Midgarian fans, and got a pass into Imaginationland’s portal (located in the Chiliad mountains, between the border of Kara-Tur and Faerun), but anyway, here’s Cloud and Aerith, on a date after the concert ended (It was already 10pm). 

“So, how did you like the concert?” Aerith asked, eating a piece of ice cream cake at the Pelikan. It was a pastry shop/ice cream shop popular with everybody. Like its real life counterpart, the original owner (and ancestor of the current owner) was a man named Pelikanovic, whose ancestry came from Banora, Mideel region. 

“The best thing I ever had in my life, but also the first. You?” Cloud answered, also eating the same cake. It was for two people but they brought some for her parents. 

“Same.” 

“Is it me or is it that we have much, much more in common?” 

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, don’t take it as something bad.”

“No, really, I don’t know.” 

“Fair enough.”

Eating cake and coffee, Cloud soon changed to another topic. 

“Aerith, have you been to Costa del Sol?” Cloud asked, while sipping coffee. They were on a date.

“Naw, but I want to.” Aerith answered his question.

“Yeah, I mean, look at this house. It looks nice!” Cloud presented a photo of said house from his smartphone.

“I like the house. Once we get the money, we’ll buy it and we’ll call it Villa Cloud.” She told him, her hands on his face.

Cloud just blushed.

“You’re getting red, eh?” Aerith just laughed and messed Cloud’s hair.

After finishing off their snack, ordered ice cream cake and paid off the restaurant and tipped the waiter, they went to the bus station and got into one, again, with Cvijan as the driver, as usual, most of his passengers being concert goers as well. 

“How’s things, Cloud and Aerith?” 

“We had a concert.” He answered. 

“Darkwood Dub?” Cvijan asked. 

“Fuck yeah!” Aerith smiled. “I was there too!”

“Where were you?” Aerith asked. 

“I wasn’t there, but my passengers talked about it.” 

“Oh that’s why.” Cloud added in. “We were at the middle but we could see the band sing Zapremina Tela!” 

So they talked more about the band and the records they had (turns out, all of it). When they returned to the nearest station where Cvijan’s bus stopped at, Aerith followed Cloud, who carried the cake they ordered. It was at Aerith’s house, because they’d spend the night there, and Cloud was to move his possessions at her house as well tomorrow, so they can have an extra room. 

Aerith and Cloud went to Barret’s house, where the latter had a GAZ-53, which they will use to go to Zack/Cissnei/Cloud’s house and move his stuff to Aerith’s house. It was actually a rental truck in case the government did not have enough moving services. Despite the government playing a big role in their lives, it didn’t hurt some people still provided services on their own accord, although they still answered to the government, but anyway. 

It took them an entire day to relocate his stuff, which wasn’t really much, except most of the day involved them where to place Cloud’s stuff, which was in the same room as his girlfriend’s. There was another room that also became a sort of warehouse for anything that they needed, so if Cloud needed some other things, at least they won’t have to worry about space. 

Zack and Cissnei were also there, so they moved some of the other stuff that Cloud did not yet move. In fact, it only consisted of several possessions: his clothes, his family photos, a CJD-500 console, some books, magazines, an electric fan, and stationery. 

Assembling them where they need to be placed was the challenge. Sure, Cloud had almost a few of them, but Aerith’s room had enough space for his stuff. What he didn’t give much attention had to be placed at the house’s storage. That meant his books. 

“Hey, why did you teach Javanese?” asked Aerith as she saw him pick up his Javanese-langauge books and a Javanese-Serbian/Midgarian (imagine Ekavian Serbian language sans Turkish, German and French, replaced with Austronesian, Russian and Sino-Japanese loanwords) dictionary. 

“Oh, yeah. I had an Filipino professor. He taught me because I was just interested. That and because I wanted to work for myself so I won’t have to rely on my sister’s money, or government money for that matter.” 

“That’s why. Ethnic or Filipino citizen? I kinda read they have people who aren’t even Filipinos, yet are considered Filipinos.” 

“Ethnic. His parents were refugees from said country. Knows a shitload of languages too.”

“So he knows Narshenian?” 

“Yeah. You might mistake him for a native too! It’s actually a hobby of his to learn other languages, sometimes works as a translator, but only when people need more translators. Any other languages you can speak besides Midgarian and Russian?” 

“If I say I can speak Polish, does saying “O Kurwa” count?” 

“If you insist...” 

She just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I'd want to write them singing Zapremina Tela while at a Darkwood Dub concert. But then my PC got fucked so I decided to mention it instead.


	6. A Good Day at Costa Del Sol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feat. Makoto and Aigis

Sleeping on Aerith’s neck, with her hands on his head, Cloud annoyed by a bell ring. Was it 7:00 am? Isn’t it Saturday? 

“Aerith, can you move a little bit? Someone’s knocking at our house, I’ll be right back.” Cloud groggily asked her as he gently tapped her back so he can get up and go downstairs.

“Aight, Cloud.” She also groggily answered and covered herself.

Cloud quickly walked downstairs and met Barret.

“Barret, why do you need me?” said Cloud, who was a bit pissed off.

“Oh, right, actually, it’s you two. I need you two to drive 2 vans filled with guns to Costa del Sol. We don’t have much people since the three of them have a different trip.”

“What time is it?”

“3am.”

“Hold on, wait...”

Cloud ran back to Aerith.

“So what happened?” she asked as she stretched and cracked her knuckles.

“Barret wants us to drive 2 vans full of guns.”

“Us? After we fucked? Well, shit, but I ain’t passing!”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Where is he?”

“Downstairs, right at the doorstep.”

“Let me fix myself. Man, all the nice things have to end.” Aerith rose up and got herself some pambahay clothes as well, as Cloud patiently waited for her. Like Cloud, she was also pissed. Cloud opened the door for her and both faced Barret.

“Uh huh, uh why did you call us to drive your merchandise?” Aerith asked.

“One, we didn’t have enough guys to drive other trucks, apart from Jessie, Biggs and Wedge. Two, you guys are the only other drivers we can find.”

“Where’s Zack and Cissnei?” Cloud asked.

“They’re out of the country, I think in Ivalice or in Alexandria. I’ll pay you guys after.”

“Sure. I’ll write a note for Mama first.” Aerith told Barret.

“When will we do this?” Cloud asked.

“3 AM.” Barret told Cloud, as the latter looked at the clock above the door. It was 3:20.

“Aight, sure. But we better eat breakfast.” Cloud told Barret.

“Breakfast’s covered.”

Cloud ran back to Aerith. 

“So what happened?” she asked as she stretched and cracked her knuckles. 

“Barret wants us to drive 2 vans full of guns and other stuff.” 

“Us? After we fucked? Well, shit, but I ain’t passing!” 

“Yeah, that’s right.” 

“Where is he?” 

“Downstairs, right at the doorstep.” 

“Let me fix myself. Man, all the nice things have to end.” Aerith rose up and got herself some pambahay clothes as well, as Cloud patiently waited for her. Like Cloud, she was also pissed. The two walked down the stairs, and met the neighborhood-friendly arms dealer. 

Cloud opened the door for her and both faced Barret. “Uh huh, uh why did you call us to drive your merchandise?” Aerith asked. 

“One, we didn’t have enough guys to drive other trucks, apart from Jessie, Biggs and Wedge. Two, you guys are the only other drivers we can find.” 

“Where’s Zack and Cissnei?” Cloud asked. 

“They’re out of the country, I think in Ivalice or in Alexandria. I’ll pay you guys after.” 

“Sure. I’ll write a note for Mama and Papa first.” Aerith told Barret. 

“When will we do this?” Cloud asked as he glanced at his girlfriend returning back to their house and writing something. 

“3 AM.” 

“Aight, sure. But we better eat breakfast.” Cloud told Barret. “Breakfast’s covered.” “Really? Thanks.” Aerith told Barret, by then finishing her note. 

“Really? Thanks.” Aerith told Barret.  
As he left and the two prepared to fix themselves, Aerith ranted once more.  
“Ah if he didn’t promise us food, I’d say no.”  
“Me too.”  
So they made some coffee, drank it quickly and ran off to Barret’s place.  
“Oh, fuck! That was too hot. We should’ve just bought some Snegs.” Aerith complained as they walked towards Barret’s office and depot.  
“Dude, the stores are closed at this time.”  
“Ah, shit.” Aerith complained.  
They ended up at Barret’s place. His complex was a hundred meters away from their house, which consisted of a warehouse for the guns, some fuel, and a depot enough to fit five trucks. They didn’t actually had vans, but 4x2 rigid box trucks. Those were GAZ-53s, since the other vehicles they saw were: 3 Saviem SM 340 trucks (they didn’t know what model though), a VAZ-2101 and a Santosic 407, possibly owned by either Kunsel or Jessie (Barret owned a GAZ-24), since Aerith heard she was a gearhead. But anyway, the couple met the truck drivers, far better professionals than they were. In fact, the farthest the three drivers had been into was Alexandria, in the northwestern regions of Faerun, 2,000 kilometers from Midgar, at least from what they heard. Aerith and Cloud alike drove up north and towards his town of Nibelheim in her Zastava 101. 

Aside from that, they also saw Barret’s GAZ-24, except it had a trailer with a forklift attached on the flatbed, secured by chains. 

Entering the trucks, both saw some CB radios, and while they were idiots at it, they saw that the radios were pretuned to the same channel. They did have B-licences, which meant they can drive small buses (like the RAF-977) or small trucks, like the Mercedes T2s and L319s or GAZ-53s. Once they get the C and E-licenses, they could drive trucks like the Bussing LU 11, ZIL-130 or the MAZ 6422 and their trailers. In the meantime, Barret gave them the keys and turned on the vehicles. While the six employees talked, Cloud and Aerith played with the radio. 

“Aerith! What’s your channel?”

“420! Yours?”

“Same!” 

“Then we can talk to each other.” 

Then a whiff of the radio signal. “Everyone in this group is under the same channel, because we’re travelling in a convoy.” announced Barret, with his Handheld transceiver.  
Before going to Costa Del Sol, Barret made sure of the promise. He fed them a heavy breakfast. Normally, they’d eat light, but since they drove a truck in the wee hours of the morning, they needed it, along with coffee that will last them for 18 hours, just enough for one cup. 

Thus, they were pretty awake for the entire day, or at least most of the day. 

And off they went, leaving Midgar for the main highway that crossed the country longitudinally. After three hours crossing said roads, they reached their destination, the city of Costa del Sol. It took them some time before seeing it. “Hey, you remember what I told you yesterday? That I’d call it Villa Cloud?” She laughed. 

Cloud was still blushing after Aerith wanted to name it after him.

“Aww Aerith, not again!” 

Aerith just laughed.

“Sorry though!” 

The convoy went as follows, Barret with his Volga (a GAZ-24), followed by the three Saviems (who actually had a different destination in the same city, at the ports). At the entrance to the city, the Volga with the GAZes and the Saviems diverged. The GAZ-24 and the 53s drove to the rear of the city’s exhibition centre. There, out of the sake of helping, the two helped Barret unload the cargo at the rear of his car, a flatbed trailer with a forklift, second hand. 

The forklift was then used to haul out the palleted containers (Aerith operated it), which had the the weapons. Cloud’s GAZ-53 had stands and some other equipment. Cloud and Aerith pulled them out for Barret, who then helped them carry said equipment towards the main hall. 

Fortunately, it was 730. They were happy enough they got it done quickly. Cloud and Aerith decided to catch some sleep, for 30 minutes, that is. Even with coffee, they wouldn’t last without sleep and would lash out, or plan to lash out. They did get sleep, but then slept for 10 minutes more. By then, some people came. An hour or two, it swelled to more than that.  
For some reason, Barret’s office staff, consisting of only Kunsel and Luxiere, were there as well. It turns out they came before the others. Then there was Barret’s cousin who lived in Kalm, by the name of Majbor. 

So all they had to do was watch the exhibition unfold. 

Cloud and Aerith were lounging in the center’s main hall (eating the same old snacks consisting of pancakes and Sneg, bought from outside) when they saw a blue-haired man and a blond woman setting up some stands for the San Andrean part of the exhibition, then one of their employees, a dreadlocked man with a white shirt and a black jersey was trying to install another stand.  
With nobody except the trio giving them a damn, the two drivers soon went to their help and helped him get some weapons stands, along with the couple. 

For some reason, the couple wanted to thank Cloud and Aerith, but Barret called the latter two for help, also on the same thing, although Cloud heard a “Spasibo!” from his direction. 

It was summer, and they couldn’t stand sweating it outside, so stood near the doors of the main hall. At the right of Cloud’s vision, he met possibly the same couple, also taking a rest. He asked Aerith. 

“Should we meet them?”

“Yeah, I heard them thanking us!” Aerith answered, stretching her back after drinking some juice from a metal bottle. She always brought said flask whenever drinking outside the house or a restaurant. 

Both walked to the young couple, probably a bit younger than them. They saw the same couple they saw before. The man had blue hair (dressed in a dark blue regular suit jacket without a tie and closed collar) and the woman had blonde hair, dressed almost in the same configuration, except she had a grey turtleneck sweater and wore grey trousers. The man had a swaddle of cloth, possibly their child. 

The man asked them in Midgarian if they can speak in Russian. When they said yes, he switched to Russian. 

“Sorry me or my wife’s Midgarian is shit. Thanks for helping us! Anyways, they call me Makoto Rostislavovic Yuki, and they call her,” referring to the blond woman whose hands were crossed down, “Aigis Takeharujevna Kirijo. They call him Wade Nemjatoevic Hebert.” Makoto referred to the man with dreadlocks, who was playing with his phone and greeted them. 

“Aw yeah, sure!” Cloud replied. “They call me Cloud Strife, and they call her Aerith.”

Makoto gave them two bars of chocolates as a sign of gratitude.

The couples talked for a while, first about their child. 

“Hey, what’s his or her name?” Aerith asked. 

“Oh him? His name is Vsevolod.” Makoto proudly answered their son’s name. “Do you wanna know how he was born?”

“When we were going home from work, my wife suddenly had a contraction, then she pushed him out of her womb. All while in the car.” 

Aerith had an open mouth as a form of shock. “Holy shit! And how old are you two, by the way?”

“We’re both 20 years old. But I’m younger than her.” Makoto answered. “by a few hours.”

“See? Even someone else has an older woman.” Aerith told Cloud. “Your mother’s right!” She joked. 

“Why?” Makoto asked. “Her family thought I’d hit on her elder sister, although I told them I was interested in Aigis.”

“Well... his parents and his elder sister suggested that he’d date an older woman. Fortunately, he did.”

“My dad’s a bit older than my mum.” Makoto added in. “and so is my wife’s parents. Amongst my friends, my friend Junpei and I have slightly older wives.” 

Sometime later, they vented about daily frustrations, like the fact that Cloud had a crazy boss or sometimes, in Makoto and Aigis’ case, they had to stop their boss, Trevor, from bullying the other employees, consisting of three weak-willed men, or how a woman didn’t like the fact that Makoto chose the blonde woman as his wife, whom they called Yukari. As for Cloud’s boss, Makoto suggested that once he had the money, he should leave and get another boss, if he can be secured, or get another job, maybe a teacher or even a professor’s assistant. 

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been planning. She’s hitting on me.”

“Wait, you mean she wants to be your wife?” Aigis asked. 

“Haha!” Makoto laughed. “Same! I have a childhood friend who’s wants to become my wife, regardless if I said no! Aigis... I love her.” He then turned to his wife, who just embraced him. “She’s a closer childhood friend than Yukari though.” Cloud saw him as lovestruck whenever he mentioned his wife to someone else. 

“Well at least you two are happy.” Aerith commented. 

They lounged and talked with one another, happily, this time about their families, that is, until Barret saw them, and greeted the two other San Andreans.

“Zdravstvuj, Makotja and Aiginka! How are things?” Barret asked. 

“Everything’s good, but we just came yesterday, by train! We only have Wade with us! Trevor’s dealing with Hamuška and Kihička at Podlossantosje!” Aigis answered his question for Makoto and herself. 

“Tell them I said hi!” Barret told the two. 

“You know these two?” Aerith asked Barret. 

“Yes! These two are my neighbors! Well, not really. But we do live in the same town nonetheless.” Barret spoke in Russian, than the standard Midgarian. 

“So have you met these two before? Like how did you meet them?” 

“I actually needed help.” Barret answered for the two. Makoto and Aigis just nodded to affirm what he said. “When these two were in college, I had to demonstrate an RPG-7 to a visiting delegation. So I asked for these two to carry some AT grenades for them. Later, they both fired an AT grenade after class as a reward. I still remember Makoto both excited and scared after firing one.” 

“AT?” Aerith asked. As much as she was a former conscript, she realized that she had no idea about anti-tank weapons. Neither did Cloud anyway, so he just listened.

“Anti-tank grenades.” Aigis explained for her. “They’re those rounds when you fight a tank. But there’s more than just anti-tank grenades. There’s anti-infantry and thermobaric as well.” 

“Trust me, when you fire it, it’s going to be light after you fired a round.” 

Then, there was much more talking, that is, until they realized it was almost getting night time. Everybody had to return. 

“Well, if you need our help though, you can ask anytime you want!” Makoto told Cloud, by providing their numbers with each other through the phone. 

“Yeah, sure!” Cloud answered. 

Both Cloud and Aerith wondered could they still stay awake. They needed Sneg.


	7. A day's worth of driving

Instead of going around, Aerith had a list of deliveries of bouquets of flowers and/or Marijuana, which involved 15 customers who couldn’t go and decided to stay their asses off at their houses. But first, she prepared herself for the day, which was procedural. First, grooming for the day (bath, tooth and hair brushing), followed by breakfast consisting of coffee with milk, a sandwich consisting of bread, sausage and cheese, an influence of Russian cuisine in Imaginationland, although she sometimes had gibanica and burek. She ate with her parents and with Cloud, sometimes talking about the news they had yesterday. 

After that, since Aerith was driving for today, and Cloud was going to work, she offered a ride. Cloud of course accepted, and thus they went to his job first. 

“What are you playing?” Aerith asked. 

“Hind.” Cloud answered. 

“You mean the Mi-24 helicopter?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Aight, sorry I was bothering you.” 

“Naw, it’s fine.”

“I have nothing to talk to much anyway.” 

Now that he started work, it’s time she started hers. She read a list of addresses that she’d have to go to. Three of them requested their package be dropped at Faremisac, 6 to be dropped at Ifalnac, then 2 at Sitice, 3 at Tuestinje, and then the last, at the district of Nomurac, where the embassies of most countries in Imaginationland, and some from Earth (mostly a few, like the Russian embassy) were located.

So first, she’d go around Faremisac. She wanted to look at the sky when she saw... a helicopter, possibly the same model. 

“Fucking helicopter.” muttering as she gripped the wheel to the left, taking another street. But she wasn’t mad enough to shout at the air. “Is it fucking following me or something?” 

But anyway, her car, her Zastava 101, rolled at an average of 45 kilometers per hour at the built up areas, but as she crossed the highway, she increased her speed, totalling to 50 km/h. She was aware of the speed limit, and it didn’t reach the limit for cars.

To cross Tuestinje (southwest of Faremisac), she needed to use the highway that divided Midgar into four portions, at least in a map. The highway (technically an expressway) could allow the driver (like Aerith) to go as fast as 100. She did push the pedal until it reached 90. As much as she loved driving, she didn’t want to use too much energy, although she only learned it from watching a Waian TV-series, called Iriegishi Midnight. The main character stated he drove slowly (read: less than 160 km/h) so he won’t have to rest often. (1)

She crossed one of the Nanak river’s bridges, named after the fifth Cait Sith, Tihomir III (the current one was the 10th out of the 50th, and was named Vukašin IV), or sometimes called the Andrean bridge, because it was built by San Andrean engineers after the war. 

As she drove around, she looked at her surroundings, which now consisted of a four elevated highway, in two separate platforms. Aerith used said platform to get to Tuestinje. She saw a convoy of four trucks, consisting of two MAZ-515Bs with trailers and two Jiefangs with trailers, mostly likely second hand imports from San Andreas and Shou Long. 

She could not help but look at it for a while, because she was the driver. Aerith had a great respect for truck drivers, mostly because her neighbor, Barret, employed three truck drivers who went out of the country once or twice a week, usually to San Andreas, Wutai and other nearby countries. Ah, yes, always with that MDP plate, or sometimes the TIR plate, for some trucks. Then again, so did Cloud. He did express his desire to be a truck driver, to which she agreed to a point. 

Sometimes, she’d see the three trucks go through their area, and watch them go to some other place. Other times, she’d see a MAZ-504 or a ZIL-130V truck pass through, or the somewhat common ones, old trucks like FAP, MANs and Scanias (e.g. the LBS 76), not to mention trucks from Kara Tur (competing with Tatra, Jelcz, MAZ, Scania, Volvo and MAN, but were far more numerous), such as Hinos or the aforementioned Jiefangs.

“I’d wonder what if I were a truck driver. What could possibly happen?” She asked to herself as she kept abreast with the trucks at the speed of 70 km/h. 

Then some 125a sped and tried to overtake her. She stopped the car for a bit, honked the horn and cursed the driver.

“Fuck you, you motherfucker!” 

However, as the 125a drove so fast, she continued to her next destination. 

Halfway through the day, she realized her fuel was getting low, since the last time she refueled was two weeks ago. Going to and fro her chosen places didn’t consume much fuel, but with her deliveries, that did consume much more. 

She sought the nearest fueling station and requested a full tank of Banayad. 

“A full tank of Banayad, please, the 76 type.”

“Yes, ma’m.”

Aerith relaxed for a bit and looked at the map she had of the city. She still had to go to Tuestinje and Nomurac, at the the residence of the Russian Ambassador, one of the addresses. That is, until she heard the sound of a helicopter flying around. 

“Excuse me.” She began. “Have you known of helicopters flying around?” She asked. 

“Well,” the attendant paused. “There is one flying above us right now.”

“Godsdamn!” she silently muttered, but politely thanked the attendant, paid him off, got the receipt, and went off her way. 

She went her way through the streets of Tuestinje, dropping off the requested packages. After that, she cruised towards Nomurac, the last stops for the delivery. There, she looked at the numerous embassies that countries from Earth had. For instance, the Islamic Republic of Iran had an embassy, or for another example, the Serbian embassy. Earth countries had only a few embassies in Midgar (or most countries in Imaginationland), alongside some other countries like Belarus, Russia, the DPRK and the Syrian Arab Republic. Then of course the numerous countries’ (in Imaginationland) embassies, San Andreas being the most prominent (just besides the Russian embassy). 

She was extremely curious about seeing countries from Earth having embassies here. Then again she read the other world was a really shitty place, with these countries making said world a less shitty place. Aerith slowly drove the 101 to find the Russian embassy. 

“Okay, that’s Choson’s embassy,” Aerith looked over the country’s embassy, a metal plate with the country’s coat of arms and words in Serbian/Midgarian, “Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, followed by the Korean text. She kept looking left and right for the Russian embassy, until she saw the Russian language text and the local text. There, she rang the doorbell and gave the package to a man. 

“Spasibo vam!” said the man. 

“Pozalusta!” said Aerith. 

Coming all the way back to Cloud’s workplace, she saw a sitting Cloud eating a chocolate bar. She opened the door for him to get in, and Cloud sat with a sigh. 

“I was thinking of one thing. You know the two of us, we love to explore?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Cloud replied. 

“I saw a bunch of trucks this afternoon, and I thought, what if I was a truck driver? I mean, I could go to places and do some extraordinary shit, if it’s possible.” 

“Mhm.” 

“So anyways, whaddya think about being a truck driver?” 

“Well, I won’t mind. I actually want to drive one someday. I’m taking truck driving school sooner or later.” 

“What?! I was just imagining what if I were one.” 

“Make it two!” he laughed. 

“Actually because my boss told me to drive one.” 

“Why?” Aerith asked as she looked at the left and right of her car. In front of them and their 101 was the other side’s vehicles crossing the road, On the left, well, just an island. To the right, there were an Ikarus IK-160 bus, and a KAMAZ-5320. 

“Well, she needed an extra driver. I mean, I don’t mind, but I certainly can accept something new.”


End file.
